TEL AVIV — Israel’s Cabinet on Sunday approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that significantly expands settlement activity under the current government and is expected to draw renewed international criticism.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key figure in Israel’s far-right coalition and a long-time advocate of settlement expansion, announced the decision, saying two of the approved settlements are located in areas that were evacuated during Israel’s 2005 disengagement plan.

Smotrich said the latest approval brings the total number of new settlements authorized over the past two years to 69.

According to Peace Now, the decision increases the number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50% during the tenure of the current government, rising from 141 in 2022 to 210 following Sunday’s approval.

The group noted that settlements are widely regarded as illegal under international law.

Peace Now said the Cabinet decision also includes the retroactive legalization of previously established settlement outposts and the creation of new settlements on land from which Palestinians had been evacuated.

The move comes as the United States is pushing Israel and Hamas to advance to a new phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10.

The U.S.-brokered framework includes a potential pathway toward the establishment of a Palestinian state — an outcome that settlement expansion is widely seen as undermining.

The expansion of settlements has long been a major point of contention in Israeli-Palestinian relations and is expected to further complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at reviving peace talks. — Agencies